March 2011

Jed Wallace, President and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), released this statement applauding the winners of the 2010-11 Title I Academic Achievement Award, which include 22 California charter schools.

CCSA’s Government Affairs team makes public school funding a top priority. Today, Assemblymember Julia Brownley, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, held an informational hearing on developing a new structure for school finance, and CCSA was in attendance on behalf of our members. Our major message at the hearing was that CCSA encourages the Legislature to look to charter schools as laboratories: we can help!

About 4,750 students in Los Angeles will be attending high-quality charter schools this fall, thanks to a massive effort from the charter school community and the bold actions of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board to push for reform and put kids first in the second round of Public School Choice.

CCSA has traditionally featured Regional Meetings, hosted in conjunction with the Annual California Charter Schools conference, but this year’s focus was a novel call to action to begin to engage the charter schools community broadly in the essential work of protecting and promoting charter school interests in the state’s capital.

Music Watson sat hunched over her laptop in the back corner of a San Diego Convention Center ballroom, typing frantically as a parade of high-powered speakers and charter school luminaries took the stage. Watson’s job over the course of three days’ worth of keynote speeches and award acceptances was to keep the outside world—the people behind handles and hashtags on Twitter, those checking in via Facebook, and visitors from across the county to CCSA’s blog—appraised of the goings on at the 18th Annual California Charter Schools Conference.

“Scenes from Schools” is an occasional piece on the CCSA News Blog that offers a glimpse at the tremendous work taking place on charter school campuses across California. In today’s “Scenes,” we learn about an innovative partnership to offer Chinese language and culture courses at Heritage College-Ready Academy High School.

“Scenes from Schools” is an occasional piece on the CCSA News Blog that offers a glimpse at the tremendous work taking place on charter school campuses across California. In today’s “Scenes,” we learn about the achievements of the Locke High School CyberPatriots.

This week, the LAUSD Board selected several top-performing charter schools to run various campuses identified in the second round of the Public School Choice (PSC) initiative. Late last year, seven charter schools submitted applications to the board for the opportunity…

The LAUSD Board voted today on the second round of the Public School Choice initiative, giving charter schools the opportunity to open 5,000 additional seats to students in the district next year. The members gave Public School Choice schools to four of the top charter operators in LAUSD.

The California Charter Schools Association is proud to award $1,500 college scholarships to five deserving charter high school graduates at Association member schools. The scholarship is named for Susan Steelman Bragato, the co-founder of the first charter school in California,…

Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), issued the following statement today on Superintendent Ramon Cortines’ recommendations for the applicants to run schools under the second round of Public School Choice:

The 18th Annual California Charter Schools Conference gathered more than 3,000 charter leaders, educators, advocates, parents, supporters, and more to San Diego this year, offering services, advice, and information to encourage charter growth and sustainability. The annual conference hosted an array of leaders, including L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former California Secretary of Education Richard Riordan, as well as interactive panels and sessions on various education issues.

Cameron Curry, executive director of The Classical Academy, was named Charter Leader of the Year at the 18th Annual California Charter Schools Conference. Mr. Curry has been serving students in the San Diego area since 1999, with a program that is innovative and personalized.

The California Charter Schools Association named the Dr. Olga Mohan High School in Los Angeles and the KIPP Bridge Charter School in West Oakland as this year’s recipients of the Hart Vision Award for Charter Schools of the Year. Both schools excel in serving students in unprivileged communities, and are some of the top performing charters in the state.

Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, was named the Elected Leader of the Year at the 18th Annual Charter Schools Conference in San Diego. The Mayor discussed education, and called for more collaboration between school districts and charter schools.

Jed Wallace, President and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), issued the following statement today on results of the March 8 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board election.

Former California Secretary of Education and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan received the charter school Supporter of the Year award at the 18th Annual Charter Schools Conference for his continued support of charter schools and education reform. Mr. Riordan was also instrumental in helping ICEF schools in L.A. stay open this year.

The California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) named Meredith Dadigan Teacher of the Year at the 18th Annual California Charter Schools Conference. Dadigan teaches elementary school students at Aspire Titan Academy in Huntington Park.

California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) honors Brian Rogers from Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland as Volunteer of the Year and the San Diego Unified School District as Authorizer of the Year in 18th Annual Charter Schools Conference. Both are part of the yearly Hart Vision Awards, named after the author of the Charter Schools Law in California.

Even if you’re unable to attend the 18th Annual Charter Schools Conference, you can still access some of the amazing speakers, presentations, and resources that will be presented March 7-10, 2011, in San Diego.